Villainy - Polarist
The Polarist is a philosophical villain who believes that the extremes of evil allow good to shine more brightly. He is evil, thus, for providing a contrast to good, seeing this evil as ultimately philanthropic. In some ways, he bears a resemblance to the Visionary archetype, but unlike the Visionary, the Polarist openly acknowledges the fact that he is evil. He believes that good and evil operate on opposing ends of a moral spectrum, and that good can only shine as brightly as the evil it opposes is dark. To make the world a better place, this villain feels he must sacrifice himself for the would-be heroes of the world - by creating darkness around himself, he allows the light of goodness to shine that much brighter. The Polarist is ultimately somewhat masochistic, and subconsciously wants to fail in the schemes he concocts. In fact, he may express a desire to challenge heroes who seem capable of defeating him. His evil is unfocused, often causing pain and suffering with no real rhyme or reason. The atrocities he commits, however, are not his ultimate goal - his true mission is to create greater suffering that (he hopes) will give rise to greater champions of light. He sees the lives destroyed in the process as sad but necessary casualties in his mission to improve the quality of goodness in the world. His schemes also seek out known heroes and plunge their lives into ever-deepening darkness. This villain targets individuals by destroying everything dear to them - however, he is not an Avenger, as he knows his target has ultimately done nothing wrong. The villain merely knows he must create horrible situations that require a hero to rise even higher to overcome. His other schemes function on similar levels - creating terror as a means to oppose the forces of goodness and light. The Polarist is, without a doubt, the most complex of all archetypal villains, for his emotional motivations are riddled with guilt. He could redeem himself for his past transgressions, but he feels too much self-pity to make the attempt. He may also be lost in feelings of self-importance. In spite of this, he has deep feelings of self-loathing that cause him to sabotage what would otherwise be a brilliant career. His Visionary-esque nature makes this villain very appealing to others with low senses of self-worth. They flock to his banner to create a better world - by being as evil as they possibly can be. Though they may not realize it, however, they are ultimately as doomed as their master, with their failure pre-ordained. In spite of all this, the Polarist is most-assuredly no pushover. He has accumulated considerable power over the course of of his life from a wide variety of sources - all for the ultimate purpose of waging a war against good. In any campaign he's in, the Polarist makes for an incredibly human villain. He has self-doubts buried under delusions of grandeur. Protagonists who find themselves the targets of a Polarist will find their lives turned upside-down as he tries to create as much personal misery as possible. On a larger scale, protagonists will often face off against a Polarist's minions as they attempt to hurt and destroy innocent lives. Variant Polarist Villains Fated: This Polarist is resigned to her fate, believing wholeheartedly that the powers that be require her to be evil so a friend or relative of hers can rise to become an even more impressive hero. Hero Builder: As the light of the brightest moon can hide the stars, so too might a truly great hero shine without a truly great darkness to oppose. A villain of this type believes that by acting in an evil manner, he will ultimately be an adversary to a would-be hero, and ergo help create a suitable champion of light. Philosophical Neutral: This Polarist is of neutral alignment - he believes there is too much good in the world, and unless proper balance is restored, it will eventually result in a time of heretofore unseen evil. Back to Fallen.